Monitor - November 2014

Brief

IN

divided the children into two groups. In the “basic” group, children received the stimulant drug OROS methylphenidate and their parents were trained in behavior management procedures for nine weeks. In the “augmented” group, both children and parents received the “basic” treatment, and the children also took the drug risperidone. Researchers found that children in the augmented group showed less anger, irritability and aggression, according to parents (Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, September).

n Shared pain brings people together,

suggests a study by scientists at the

University of New South Wales in Australia. In one experiment, researchers asked 54 students to submerge their hands in a bucket of water, locate a metal ball and place it in an underwater container. For one group, the water was painfully cold, while for the other the water was room temperature. The students were also asked to perform an upright wall squat (a sometimes painful exercise) or to balance on one leg, with the option of switching legs to avoid fatigue (a less painful exercise).

Participants then rated statements
designed to measure how they felt about
their group. The researchers found that
those who performed the painful tasks
reported a greater degree of bonding
than did those who performed the less
painful versions (Psychological Science,
online Sept. 5).

n Children show an intuitive understanding of probability and other math concepts as early as age

2, suggests research led by University of Washington scientists. Thirty-two 2-year-old children watched as researchers played a game in which they placed a wooden block onto a box located near a marble-dispensing machine. One block activated the machine two-thirds of the time, while another different colored and shaped block triggered the machine only one-third of the time. After the children watched 12 run-throughs using the different blocks, researchers had the children play the game themselves, and most picked the block with the greater success rate over the other block (Developmental Science, online July 16).

n Depression often goes untreated among people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a study by Northwestern University investigators, who examined data from more than 7,000 people with Parkinson’s disease using the National Parkinson’s Foundation patient database. The researchers found that although nearly a quarter of the people reported depression symptoms, only one-third of them had been prescribed antidepressants and even fewer had seen a mental health professional. A year later, the researchers followed up with the remaining two-thirds of patients

After watching a game in which certain blocks dispensed more marbles, children were able to pick the block that triggered more marbles, suggesting that even young kids understand probability.